You’ve put in the hard work, prepared for your meeting, ROCKED IT but now, you might be hearing the crickets chirp. So, what happens next?! 🤷🏻♀️
The post-meeting strategy is where a lot of people fall short is in the follow-up process. Sometimes, you'll hear from your buyer quickly but that’s not always the case. There is nothing more frustrating than walking out of a meeting feeling like you’ve nailed it only to hear crickets chirp for weeks. To make this part of the process easier on yourself it's really important to have a post-meeting strategy in place.
Step 1: Start with a Thank You (yes, AGAIN!)
I always like to shoot any new buyer I’ve met with for the first time a quick note to thank them again for their time (yes, it may sound redundant since you thanked them in person but trust me, there is no such thing as showing too much gratitude!) If you’ve promised to send them additional information, complimenting images, a mock-up of something that wasn’t quite finished at the time of your meeting, delivery info or anything that they need to place an order don’t wait. Get them the info they need or requested as quickly as possible. The longer you wait the higher the chances are they will forget, get busy or move on and place an order elsewhere
Step 2: Have Patience
It can be really disheartening when you do all this hard work, think an order is landing in your inbox immediately but end up waiting for your confirmation. Buyers usually like to take a look at the other products they have on order, review their budgets and selling history all of which can take a few days. Plus, they're busy running a store! Don't be that person who borderline harasses them for an order. If the order is pressing due to inventory moving quickly or timing with a manufacturer be sure to specify that timing is important during your meeting, and again as part of your follow up.
Step 3: Time your Follow Up
If your buyer has everything he/she needs or requested and you haven’t heard back within a week after your meeting it’s absolutely ok to send a follow-up email. Buyers get busy and sometimes they forget that they owe you an order. Keeping it simple and straight to the point like “I just wanted to check in quickly because when we met you were so excited about {x product} Are you still interested in placing an order?” will both remind them about what they were so excited for and get you an update about their order status. If a few weeks go by and the crickets keep chirping you may want to go ahead and give them a call. Some buyers respond better to direct conversation outside of email while others prefer to work strictly online.
